A Life With or Without You
by flaming-archer
Summary: Dagger is a sad girl with a tragic past, masked with a cheerful smile. Everybody loves her, but they don't know her sufferings she is experiencing. One day, a new boy, Zidane, comes to her life.
1. The Loneliess I Feel

A Life With or Without You

Chapter 1: The Loneliness I Feel

By: KawaiiLeena

Summary: Dagger is a sad girl with a tragic past, masked by a cheerful smile. Her friends love her and adore her, but they don't know anything about her, Her family, her sadness and her loneliness. And then, a new boy from America, Zidane, appears. What will happen then?

Chapter 1: The Loneliness I Feel

Here stands Odaiba High, a school with a normal status, great students, peaceful sessions and lectures, fine teachers, open fields, great games, cheerful fellows and a sad girl.

Dagger hugs her knees as she leans her back on a Sakura tree, her gaze to the sky blue sky. Her long midnight black hair that was up to her shoulders (the one where Dagger cuts her hair in the game!), carried by the soft breeze. Her chocolate brown eyes filled with unknown emotions and her innocent personality touched everyone else.

A beautiful girl she is, as they say. Everyday, she goes to school with a very happy face that seems to make everyone brighten their day, Her cheerful smile that softens everyone else's heart. Her clueless personalities that make everyone laugh. Her kindness that makes everyone adores her even more.

Yet, looks can be sometimes deceiving.

Behind that happy face lies a lonely and sad girl with a tragic past that she never forget, a past she doesn't want to tell anybody or express them to, a past she doesn't want to experience again.

The beautiful girl sighs again as she gazes the clouds that seem to be forming to a dragon. She makes a small smile. When she was a child, she loves dragons. She always wanted to have one as a pet, but she knew she was dreaming impossible things. But hey, it's not a crime to dream, isn't it?

She hugs her knees tighter, not even noticing her friend, Eiko, is near and is searching for her. She is on her world again, thinking of impossible things to happen. Like, for example, being with her family again. No… too impossible.

Unknown to her, a mysterious shadow is coming near her, her full light purple hair, her mischievous grin plastered to her cute face. She walks on, planning to scare the girl she is searching.

Dagger continues to wander off, still dazed to her own world. She sighs… until…

"BOO!"

"GAH!" Dagger cries, almost falling her face to the emerald grass. Realizing her friend, Eiko, laughing her head off, she pouts angrily and says, "Mou! You are so mean!"

Eiko stops laughing and gives a goofy grin. "C'mon, Dagger! It's not that bad, ne? Just a scare!"

"JUST!" Dagger retorts, though she was faking it. Eiko arches an eyebrow. "Ok, I'm not that angry, but that was pretty mean."

Eiko shrugs, her green eyes beaming. "Like I said, just a scare. C'mon, let's go home together. We live on the same street, right? Mine just 3 blocks away from you."

Dagger giggles. "Yeah, 'same street'."

Eiko pouts and sticks out her tongue, hands on the hips, her green backpack behind her straight back. "But it's close enough!" she snaps back. Dagger giggles, noticing she can't hold it longer, Eiko giggles also.

Eiko and Dagger are best friends since God knows when. They almost did everything together; even copy their homework in the 1st grade! Yet, their bond of friendship is very strong that nothing can ever make them apart.

A few walks and gossips and giggles together, they finally reaches Dagger's beautiful yellow house, with a strong and yellow bar gate, peony and lotus flowers in the gardens, fine emerald green grass and the beautifully decorated house.

"Well, this is my stop, Eiko," Dagger says, bowing. "I must go inside now. Ja ne."

Suddenly, Eiko pulls back Dagger's wrist. Dagger turns around, quite confused. "Is there anything else you want, Eiko?" Dagger asks quite politely, smiling. Eiko shakes her head. "Huh?"

Eiko lets go and grins. "Can I go inside, too?"

Dagger pauses and after a while, replies, "W-why? I mean… your house is not far away! Like you said, three blocks away, r-right?"

"Dagger, are you alright or something?" Eiko asks, concerned and arching an eyebrow. "I'll just go inside for 30 minutes. Besides, when was the last time I visit your house? Since two years ago?"

Dagger pauses again and realizes she was right. Ever since the tragic happened, she never let anyone in. But, Eiko is her best friend. Of course she can come in, right?

"Fine…" Dagger replies stiffly as she opens the gate and invites Eiko in. Eiko smiles and willingly walks in, as Dagger unlocks the door with a key. As they open it, they went inside quickly. "Nothing much changed."

"Are you crazy?" Eiko exclaims, looking around. "Your house seems to changed! Much more beautiful than before."

Dagger smiles sadly as she puts her backpack down. "Thanks…"

In the living room stands two single and one long pink, soft, sofas with a table in the middle, a group of lily flowers in the center. Below, are a fiery red carpet and a beautifully cemented floor with a rare pattern, like strings and circles dancing together, a large T.V. with DVD, VCD, VHS, and a Playstation2 is found in the living room with a chandelier on the ceiling. The kitchen was neat and clean and seems germ-free, seeing no mess around the kitchen sink and the wooden four-people table. A large refrigerator is found with a toaster beside it. A juice blender and an oven are found on the opposite side. The bathroom was clean and also germ-free, with a nice patterned floor. There was a bathtub, a shower, a toilet and a sink with a bin below it. It seems fragrant, too. There were three bedrooms all with a queen-sized soft and comfortable white fabric with soft materials bed, a full-length mirror, a cabinet, two bedrooms with a TV, and the other one with a radio. There were also two aircons in two rooms, and electric fans each. And each has a table of its own for its own personal uses.

Eiko sits down on the picnk single sofa looking around with an approving nod. "It's great to be here again!" she exclaims, smiling. Then she turns to Dagger who is in the kitchen, preparing two juices. "Hey, Dagger."

"Yeah?" Dagger answers back. "What is it, Eiko?"

"Where is your family?" Eiko asks innocently, but Dagger does not reply and stops whatever she was doing and looks kind of frozen. Her eyes go wide as her breathing fastened. "Are you alright? I'm sorry if I am interrupting anything… sorry."

Dagger goes back to her senses and shakes her head, coming back to the living room with a tray of two large glasses or mango juice with two chips.

"No, it's alright…" she says softly, putting the tray down to the wooden table and handing Eiko one glass. She sits down and sighs. "M-my family are out of town," she lies, picking up her own large glass and tries to sip some of it. "Visiting my grandmother, you know, tradition thing."

Eiko arches one eyebrow as she gets one chip and opens it, and then puts a mouthful. "Really… (Chomp)… how avout…(chomp)… youze…(chomp)… shoulzn't youze ve… (Chomp) … wiz them… (Chomp)…?"

Dagger thinks hard, trying to make up an excuse. She isn't ready to tell anyone yet, though she hates lying. Maybe she won't tell anyone about it forever, it will always be unrevealed to the world, like a chest that has no key.

"I didn't go with them," she replies stiffly, but not too convincing enough. "I have to work on my studies. You know how hard it is to be on your 3rd year of High School."

Eiko arches an eyebrow as she sips her juice. "Oh really? But, how about your big brother, Steiner? Isn't he a college student? Don't you think he should be on his studies, too?"

"He was given a month off," Dagger replies quickly, getting nervous suddenly. "You know the college students works hard for everything, and with that, all students was given a month off."

"I thought that Odaiba College don't give days offs?" Eiko asks, suspicious of her best friend's sudden nervousness and behavior. "And I'm sure I saw some Odaiba college students just a week ago and yesterday."

"WILL YOU STOP ASKING QUESTIONS?" Dagger yells, head lowered and eyebrows furrowed. Eiko seems surprise that she shuts up immediately. Dagger sighs as she looks up, her eyes sad, her face emotionless. "I'm sorry… I'm just a bit tense these days, and that… you know, studies…"

"I understand," Rikka apologizes as he sips her mango juice. "I'm sorry if I was annoying you with my questions. It's that I feel you are different from the different Dagger I once knew. I feel you are a bit distant. No offense, okay?"

Dagger sadly smiles; she knows what Rikka means… completely. She never acts like her cheerful self ever since two years ago. Her sadness was covered with a smile, but she never acted like herself completely. Yes, she is still the kind Dagger, but not totally herself. She never talks much ever since, but still, people love her the way she is, even though they notice the sudden change.

"I know," Dagger, says softly, her head down, her dark brown eyes sadder than it is, her voice a lonely whisper only to be heard by no one. "I know."

To be continued… 

So, how do you like it? First chapter, not really that much drama or sad, just type the way I want it to be. Well, check out for more chapters, ok? **(I'm going to delete my other FFIX fic because I don't know what I'm going to do with it. But if you want it, just tell me. The first chapter of it sucked, but the second chapter is way better than the first chapter of ONE DAY, WE'LL MEET AGAIN. Just tell me if you want me to continue or not!)** I hope this new story gets your attention. I really hope so. I suck at writing sad ones, but I really wrote at my best, so please… read it and then review. I WOULD really appreciate it if you will.

_REVIEW!!!!!_


	2. New Guys

_**A Life With or Without You  
Chapter 2: New Guys**__**  
By: KawaiiLeena**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX!! **_

_It's not easy to live life sometimes, and face the world with a smile when you're crying inside. It takes a lot of courage to reach down inside yourself, hold on to that strength that is still there, and know that tomorrow is a new day – with new possibilities _

- Kathy Obara

Chapter 2: New Guys

Dagger wakes up softly, opening her beautiful deep brown eyes as the sun reaches her creamy skin through the bedroom window. She looks around her as she sees herself lying on the bed, in her wallpapered white and orderly room.

She rubs her eyes as she slowly gets out of bed, wearing her pink pajamas printed with Cherry Blossom flowers. She yawns as she stretches her arms and fixes her messy black hair in the mirror with her pink comb.

Yes, an unusual morning, for her, that is. In her past two years, when her family was still alive, she would wake up, smelling the sweet cooking of her mother and receiving the simple greetings of her father when she comes downstairs for breakfast. How she misses it so much, especially the times when she would argue with her big brother for small things, but that is what makes her family special to her.

Dagger sighs as she puts down the comb on her dresser, then looks again to the mirror. She studies at her reflection, detail to detail. The twinkle in her eyes seemed to disappear all of a sudden, and her cheerful smile faded away. Her heart ache often when she remember the painful memories that always haunt her, the memories that keeps getting back at her.

Dagger looks down as she thinks sadly, _'Why is it like this? Why am I suffering like this? I have been so stupid two years ago! If only… if only… I was killed with them, and then, I wouldn't be suffering like this!'_

"Stop this, Dagger… it's over," she reminds herself, not looking at her own reflection, because it only hurts her. It hurts her to see her own reflection. "What's in the past is in the past! You can never do anything to undo what is already done! Your life is like this, and will always will, so better accept it."

She turns around and looks up, only to see tears flooding in her eyes, her right hand on her chest. "But it hurts…" she cries softly, head down, her shoulders trembling. "It hurts so much…"

Later

Let us now transfer to Odaiba High School, a peaceful school to begin with, cheerful people, good kids, fine teachers, great status, clean surroundings, nice sportsmanship, and everything else that makes it a highly recommended school for students who are aiming for a good education and a better future.

Eiko Carol enters the gates of the school with a smile and happy whistling, also wearing her school uniform: a dark black long sleeve blouse with a white like-scarf tie with a skirt that was up to her knees. She looks around, her green eyes bumbling with happiness.

Eiko is always known to be a girl with hopes for everyone, an innocent smile that shows she has dreams for the upcoming future, but also a sly female character indeed. She may be suspicious and cunning at times, but despite of that, everyone likes her, making her feel unique and loved.

Eiko's father died when she was still four years old because of a car accident. She never forgets that incident, though she would mourn and cry for her father often at times, but she always know that there are reasons for everything.

She also remembered what her father's last words to her before he died,

"Eiko, my daughter, you are beautiful not only to my eyes, but to the point of view with everyone else's. Always be strong and never give up, even to the difficult obstacles in life you are going to experience soon enough. Life continues until the depth of time, so, whatever happens, always move on. I love you, my child."

Up until to this day, Eiko always reminded herself to continue life, with or without her father. But she knows, even though he passed away, she feels his presence always with her, a shadow or a smile away.

The cheerful girl looks around for her best friend and finds her sitting on a bench beside a Sakura tree not too far away, deep in her thoughts. Eiko grins and walks to her, hoping to have a chat with her.

"Hey, Dagger!" Eiko calls, waving at her. Dagger blinks and looks toward where that voice comes from to see her best friend waving at her. She forces a cheerful smile and waves back.

"Hi, Eiko," Dagger greets, hoping to sound convincing enough. "It's a good day, isn't it?"

Eiko sits beside her and flashes a stunning smile. "Sure is! Why did you say that anyway?"

Dagger shakes her head and looks up, admiring the beautiful sky up above her. She knows her family is watching her. If only she could join them, then they could be together, and she, herself, won't be lonely anymore.

"Just a while ago," Dagger continues, her brown eyes still gazed to the blue cloudless sky. "I saw three white doves, each holding a leaf. The came to me and gave me the leaves they are carrying and flew away. Somehow, as I reach down and pick up the leaves, new hopes appeared, making me more relaxed and confident for the future."

Eiko looks at her friend and studies her. She notices she was serious and asks, "And what makes you say that?"

Dagger does not reply, but continues gazing. Will she tell her friend that her family members were secretly killed and she was living all by herself ever since? No, she can't. She'll still lock the secret out.

"Nothing," Dagger replies monotone, turning her chocolate eyes to Eiko's emerald ones with a smile. "I just felt like saying it. But true enough, I did feel like hope is coming back to me."

Eiko smiles and pats her friend's shoulder. "Great, Dagger! I'm so happy to hear that!" she exclaims, suddenly hugging her best friend gently. "I don't know why, but I feel like an overflowing of joy passing through me!"

Dagger laughs as they let go with each other. She looks up to find that the first bell finally rings, motioning students to go to their first class in the morning.

"Let's go, Eiko," Dagger motions, standing up, seeing Odaiba High School students entering the school. Eiko smirks and crosses her arms and her legs, and still not getting away from her seat. Dagger narrows her eyes and asks, "What are you doing? Let's go!"

"Make me," Eiko mocks in a sly tone, not even bothering to move. "I'm too lazy to get up. So I want you to make me laugh first."

Dagger rolls her eyes and shakes her head in disgust. Now, she is really convinced that Eiko is sometimes really annoying to handle.

"I'm not a clown, Eiko!" Dagger retorts back, getting very impatient. Of course, the early bird Dagger comes late for class? What would others think? "I'm not good in making people laugh or that sort of thing! C'mon! We'll be late in class if we don't hurry!"

Eiko smirks as she says, "Like I said, make me."

Dagger sighs and gives up, "Fine, besides, I don't want to make my best friend late…" she says softly, but loud enough for Eiko to hear. Eiko suddenly feels guilty when she heard those words, but she decided to play along.

Dagger thinks for a while, then puts her books and backpack down, then flaps her arms like a chicken, making Eiko softly giggle. She then makes funny and goofy faces, forcing Eiko to laugh a little.

'_I can't believe this! I look like a mad lunatic idiot!' _Dagger thinks as she acts like a clown. _'UGH! Concentrate Dagger, concentrate! Make her laugh before the second bell rin—'_

"RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!"

Dagger gasps and covers the side of her face with her hands, looking around to see only them in the remaining campus.

"Oh no! I'm late! Oh My Gosh! I'm late!" Dagger exclaims, jumping up and down, her face totally priceless, making Eiko laugh so hard. "What are you laughing at? Can't you see? We're the only ones in the campus! Everybody has gone inside! Worse, I'm late! The early bird Dagger is late!"

"Yeah, I know!" Eiko laughs, not able to control herself. She stops when she receives a glare from Dagger. "Look, I'm sorry if I make you late! But I really need a laugh," she explains as she takes Dagger's book and backpack and hands it to her. "Here, let's go. Let's dash to the classroom before Suzuki-sensei comes."

Dagger nods and takes her things with her and runs to the entrance, seeing everybody has gone to their appointed classes. Without second thoughts, she makes a run to the second floor where her first class is, which is History.

"Hey, Dagger!" Eiko calls, still on the first floor. "Aren't you going to your locker?"

"I'll move that one later!" Dagger replies back, stopping. "Let's go, Eiko! We are already five minutes late!"

Eiko sighs as she grumbles, "Fine." She immediately runs up to catch up with her best friend, so she did. They dash to room 218, seeing their teacher, Mrs. Suzuki, already arrived, teaching. She has dark brown hair that is tied to a messy bun and fiery red eyes. She is wearing the usual black pants and red T-shirt with peony flowers printed.

"Dagger Alexandros and Eiko Carol, you are late," Ms. Suzuki announces, in a gentle voice, but in a warning tone, too.

"Gomenasai (I'm sorry) Suzuki-sensei," Dagger apologizes, taking a short bow. "It won't happen again."

Mrs. Suzuki smiles as she gently says, "That is quite alright, Dagger. You may now take your seat. Eiko Carol, take your seat, too. But I want you two not to do it again, clear?"

"Hai (yes) sensei," they reply together. Dagger walks up to her far left seat on the third group, 2nd row, left side that is beside the window, and Eiko behind her.

Mrs. Suzuki soon continues to teach, not noticing Dagger is not paying attention. She is on her own world again, gazing outside, in her own thoughts.

_FLASHBACK _

_Dagger was sitting on the bench beside a Sakura tree. She would have gone inside, but she felt she needed air for once and time to think and reflect her thoughts. She looks up and admired the blue sky that shone above her. _

_A while later, three white doves appeared on the sky, flying gracefully, a leaf in their beaks. Dagger smiled at the sight of this. She watched them fly, their graceful moves and swings. _

"_I wish I am like that, a dove," she whispered to herself, her chocolate eyes gleaming. "Then I can be free, free from all the sufferings I am experiencing right now."_

_Suddenly, the white doves flew down. Dagger seemed surprise when they disappeared on the sky. She looked down to see the doves before her stopping one by one._

_She looked at them while she smiled. Then, one at a time, they bowed their heads and put down the leaves they were carrying then flew away, leaving a very stunned Dagger._

_END OF FLASHBACK _

Eiko looks at her friend worriedly while Dagger continues to gaze outside the window. Somehow, she feels something is bothering her for a long time now, and becoming distant and distant every day that passed.

"Excuse me, class, but can I have your attention?" Mrs. Suzuki asked loud enough to make the student's heads turn to her, except Dagger. She smiles as she says; "We have two new students today from America. Let us now introduce Zidane Tribal and Vivi Ornitier."

Two boys walks in the classroom, one has greenish-blue eyes that seems so heart-warming and messy blonde hair. He has a friendly smile on his face when he walked in, wearing the school uniform. The other one is a bit smaller than the other one. He has a large hat that covered most o his face, but it reveals he has pure golden eyes.

"Can you please be kind enough to introduce yourself to the class," Mrs. Suzuki asks, sitting down on the chair beside the teacher's table.

The blonde nods as he turns his head to the class, "Hi, I'm Zidane Tribal, from America. I live with my brothers, Kuja, my sister, Mikoto, and my dad, Baku. I am good when dealing with swordfights and I am available." He wiggles his eyebrows, hearing sighs from the girls.

"Hello… I am Vivi Ornitier and I am also from America… I live with my grandfather, Kio (made it up), and I practice black magic…" he stammers, obviously shy.

"Thank you for your introduction, boys," Mrs. Suzuki says with a smile as she stands up. "Now, let's see where we will put you two."

Zidane looks around when he spots a very beautiful girl with midnight black hair and chocolate brown eyes by the window, staring outside and seems deep in her thoughts. _'She's pretty cute! I wonder what's her name?'_

Mrs. Suzuki looks at where Zidane is looking and she thinks that Zidane is looking at the two vacant seats beside Dagger and Eiko. She smiles as she announces,

"Zidane, you go sit beside Ms. Dagger," she announces, hoping to get Dagger's attention. "Dagger, please raise your hand." Dagger didn't budge, her eyes not moving from the glass window. Mrs. Suzuki sighs, "Ms. Dagger."

Eiko pokes Dagger on the back, making Dagger jumps and shrieks, "No, ma'am, I did not feed your dog with your underwear!"

Mrs. Suzuki arches an eyebrow and the class burst with giggles and laughter, Zidane chuckles at her behavior, and Dagger, realizing her mistake, sits down and blushes crimson.

"Class, quiet down," Mrs. Suzuki warns. She looks at Dagger and smiles; "I take that as a good joke. Zidane, please sit beside her." Zidane willingly nods and then does what he was told.

"And you, Vivi, my boy, go sit beside Ms. Eiko, the cute girl with the weird purple hair," she teases.

Eiko pouts and sticks out her tongue, "Cute, thank you, for that is very much true, but weird? I resent that, Suzuki-sensei!"

Mrs. Suzuki laughs with the giggles of the other girls and snickers of the other boys. "I was just teasing you, Eiko. Vivi, sit down beside her." Vivi nods and does what he was told to do.

Dagger looks away, not wanting to look in the eye with her new seatmate. She's so embarrassed from what she did earlier that she would definitely blush when they will make eye contact.

"You don't have to be embarrass," Zidane says, grinning. Dagger looks at him surprised. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

Dagger blushes and looks away. "T-thanks…"

Zidane smiles and turns to her, seeing her looking out the window again. "Can you please turn to me for a while? I want to see your face."

Dagger sighs as she plainly replies, "It's not necessary. You'll see me later on; I don't feel like talking today. No offense, but, I want to be alone for a while."

Zidane shrugs, "Sure."

Dagger sighs as she thinks, _'A new seatmate… just great… it's the most least thing I ever need right now… he's probably a jerk.'_

To be continued… 

Hi! Thanks for the reviews!!! Here are some replies:

**Justme2004: **Thank you for your review! Yeah, drama is HARD, even though I have no similar experience; I have to let the emotions out.

**Ashitaka666: **Thanks 4 the review! Yeah, feel sorry for Dagger, too! And you'll all find out the tragedy later on! I want to keep it SECRET for a while! Hehe…

**RefugeOfSouls: **Hey, don't cry, ok? And you all will gonna discover what happened to her family in the next chapter... promise!!!!

Sorry for the long delay, but I need to focus my attention to my education right now because the 3rd Quaterly exams are coming! I have to study for a good grade, duh! Please expect a new chapter by next week! Thurday or Wednesday maybe, I don't know! But I promise, next week!

Well, that's all! With or without reviewers, I'll continue this fic to replace my beloved other one! Hehe… well, have a nice day! Don't forget to leave a nice **review**, ne?


	3. The Past

_**A Life With or Without You  
Chapter 3: The Past**  
**By: KawaiiLeena **_

_No one ever said life would be easy, and it seems so unfair sometimes. Yet, life's ups and downs make us better and stronger, even though we may not realize it at the moment._

Laurie Wymer

Chapter 3: The Past

After 4th class, Dagger picks up her books and backpack and goes down to her locker that is in the first floor. She enters the halls, seeing students crowding the path, walking and talking to the cafeteria or someplace to eat. Hey, it's lunchtime after all.

Dagger sighs as she finally reaches her locker and opens it with her appointed combination. She enters her books and notebooks and some of her stuff from her backpack and getting some of her Reading books and Science.

"Hmm… I wonder where's locker 244?" a familiar voice says to himself behind the brunette girl. She froze in her place as she stiffly looks up to see her locker number: 243.

_'Don't tell me his locker number is beside me, please, Kami-sama!' _Dagger pleads in her thoughts, tightly closing her eyes. _'I have suffered more than enough, please, don't let it get worser!'_

"Let's ask that brown-haired girl, Zidane," a smaller voice suggests, followed by a 'sure'. They walk to the brown haired girl and politely ask, "Excuse me, but we are new here. Can you please tell us where locker number 244 and 245 are?"

The girl smiles and points the locker beside Dagger, who is sweating nervously. "There, beside that girl over there." Then she walks away.

Zidane arches an eyebrow and smirks slyly at Vivi. "You know, I don't get it you being so shy in the class while you are so confident and brave when speaking to that girl there." He says in a sly tone, crossing his arms in front of him.

Vivi rolls his eyes and nudges Zidane on the ribs. "Shut up, Zidane." He replies back a bit of annoyed. Zidane chuckles as they go their ways to their locker. Vivi instantly recognize the girl who is obviously hiding her face. He whispers, "Hey, Zidane, isn't that your seatmate?"

"Hm? Where?" Zidane asks, looking around as he immediately caught sight of Dagger putting away her notebook. "Hey, Dagger!"

Dagger sighs as she closes her locker with a loud thud then furrows her long and dark eyebrows. "Great, now you found me! First, in the classroom, you are my seatmate, and now, you are beside my locker! What are you up to anyways?"

Zidane arches an eyebrow and asks, "What are talking about?" he glances to Vivi who just merely shrug. Then, he turns to the boiling Dagger. "Hey, chill out. What did I ever do to make you so angry at me?"

"That, Tribal, is none of your business," Dagger answers harshly, she then picks up her backpack and walks away where will meet her best friend, Eiko, in their usual eating place, which is the Sakura tree near the basketball court.

"What's her problem?" Zidane ask Vivi, opening his appointed locker and then puts inside his books and some of his notebooks. "I never did anything to make her against me, did I?"

Vivi chuckles as he opens his own locker, and replies in a wise tone, "As I see to it, nothing. Maybe she is on a bad mood, and having a new student won't brighten it. A few problems up on her sleeve, maybe."

Zidane shrug as he closes his locker and picks up his bag. He grins as he says, "Whatever it is, she sure is cute! And she has an attitude, too. What if I make her like me?"

Vivi smirks as he closes his locker and picks up his own black backpack. "Yeah, whatever, but in what way?"

Zidane shrugs as they walk to the cafeteria, his messy hair messier than it has been, making him more handsome than usual, "I dunno, I'll think about it later on. Right now, I'm starving!"

"Wait, Zidane," Vivi calls, making Zidane glance to him with his shoulder. Vivi blushes as he looks up, "Well, you see, my seatmate, Eiko, invited me to have lunch with her and her friend, well… I wonder if we go along?"

Zidane laughs as he pats Vivi on the shoulder. "Sure, why not? I guess having friends would be great for a while, let's go. Besides, it's about time you claim yourself your own girlfriend!" Vivi sighs. "Hey, just kidding!"

Vivi nods and smiles secretly. It is sure great to be Zidane's pal. He lets you feel loved and cared for, making you special. It's rare to find guys like him these days, that's for sure.

**_MEANWHILE_**

Dagger sighs as she sits on the freshly green grass beside the Cherry Blossoms tree, her chocolate eyes turning to the beautiful tree that stands above her, the flowers fragrant are too good to see.

She looks around, seeing her bubbly friend, Eiko, nowhere to be seen in the naked eye. She sighs, thinking where she could be. 'She's probably causing havoc around the school,' she thinks with a smirk. 'That's what she always do when she gets late…'

The brunette girl looks to the sky as an unmistakable sigh escapes her lips, as she remembers her memories of two years ago…

**_FLASHBACK _**

_14 years old Dagger finally comes home from school, wearing the usual school uniform with a huge smile on her face, her black hair swaying. She passes the beautiful garden her father and mother worked hard so much from the past to the decorated doorway._

_She opens it as she sees the lights on. "Tadaima (I'm home)! Mom, Dad, Stein!"_

_Silence greets her, making her utterly confused. If no ones home, why is it the lights are on? She walks pass the lovely living room, still, no one, not a single sound to be heard from the whole house. She waits for about 5 minutes, to see if someone is playing a trick on her._

_"Mom… Dad!" she calls again, putting down her pink backpack to the sofa, as she walks around to the kitchen to see if her mother is cooking, she feels a very bad feeling sending to her spine. _

_"Must be my imagination!" she tells herself, shaking her head. She continues to walk to the kitchen, and as she passes the dining table, she was surprise to see a hot coffee on the table, half-filled, with the daily newspaper beside it, but no one reading it or drinking the coffee._

_"What's going on here?" she asks herself aloud. She looks around again, quiet still, and the noises to be heard are the dogs barking outside and the bells of the bicycles. She walks to the coffee, seeing it still hot. "Dad…"_

_She looks around, scared as ever. "Mom, Dad, c'mon, you are playing a trick on me again! Come out right now! I'm serious!" she says angrily, her voice scared. She shakes her head as silence replies her. _

_She walks to the neat kitchen, even more surprised to see the faucet still dripping, ingredients on the sink and the floor. It looked a total chaos, like someone got in and made a mess out of everything… and… blood._

_"What's this?" she whispers, kneeling down. She touches the dip of blood to her finger and began to sip it. Her eyes widen as she immediately backs away and shouts, "What is this? This is my mother's blood! What's going on here?"_

_Her eyes trembled with fear, as the thought came to her mind that someone might have killed them. Her heart beats faster and faster, as her shoulders quiver, her mouth stammering._

_"AAH!" She yells, immediately standing up and runs to one corner as she forms her body to a ball. "Oh my gosh, no! This isn't happening… Kami-sama… helps me… Steiner!" she gasps as she remembers her brother._

_Dagger runs upstairs to her brother's wooden bedroom door as she opens it quickly. She felt her heart stop when she sees no one was around. The bed in a mess, things scattered everywhere, the electric fan on, video game and the TV running, with a titled… GAME OVER on the screen._

_Dagger felt she wanted to cry and scream, but no words came from her pink lips. So speechless she is… she felt her body getting weaker as her knees reached the floor._

_"Where are they… where are they?" she shouts, crying. She remembers her parent's room. Maybe they are in there… maybe they are there… waiting for her…_

_With hopeful eyes, she wipes her eyes with her blouse as she dashes off to the last room that is her parent's room. She stops in the doorway as her heart beats faster, that she could hear it, like a drum She clenches her fist to a ball as her right hand reaches for the doorknob, but she feels someone is stopping her._

_Her right hand tremble, as if scared to open it, also afraid to see what is inside, Dagger shakes her head as she looks up with confidence, opens the door and then…_

_Dagger's eyes widened with shock as she sees her parents, her beloved mom and dad, her big brother, who's so kind, on the floor… dead, blood spreading everywhere._

_She looks around, seeing where ever her brown eyes go. She could see blood everywhere, to the floor mattress, to the white sheets of the bed, to the cabinets and scattered dresses of her mother and the shirts of her father._

_She looks down as her breathing fastened. Their lays her father, his eyes rolled out, a knife straight to his heart, where his navy blue T-Shirt covered with his fresh blood, a deep cut on his neck, a white liquid flowing out of his mouth, his right arm and left leg cut and is removed from his body, making her swallow hard._

_She looks beside her killed father where her mother lays, eyes popped out, her head separated from her slim body, her pink dress with her red blood, her dark raven hair scattered to the floor, also removed from her head, a deep wound on her legs and her hands cut by a sword._

_Dagger backs away as she spots her brother, her big brother, Steiner, with a razor cut on his well-built body, two knives on his eyes, blood coming out from his nose and mouth, all his parts: his arms and legs, separated from his body, where it lays below the bed. His white T-shirt with cuts and holes from guns and swords, his neck with several wounds._

_Dagger never has seen any thing so much violence in her life as she gasps and covers her mouth while tears flooded her beautiful eyes. Her family, gone… killed… tortured to death without their mercy._

_She looks up as she encounters with her reflection from the mirror, her eyes widen as she reads the blood on the full-length mirror: YOU'RE NEXT, GIRL…_

_She covers her eyes, her heart beating, herself feeling scared so much from all of this, First, her family, her beloved brother, her caring mother, her sweet father, and now… her… the innocent Dagger of the family, Their only daughter next to be the victim of this violence and torture._

_She looks at her reflection one more time; sure she spotted a black figure behind her as she screams as loud as she could…_

**_END OF FLASHBACK_**

Dagger wakes up from her sleep with sweating and a sudden feeling of nervousness. She puts her hands on her chest as she feels them beating hard, like running from a tiger. She shakes her head as she thinks…

_'The dream… that's what happened to me two years ago…'_ she thinks as she looks around. '_That was the time when my family got killed… but… from the earlier years, I never encountered that dream… why now… and who is that black figure?'_

Her eyes widen as the thought came, _'is this a sign, A sign that the murderer will soon come to get me? I'm not so sure, but I feel so strange… like someone is watching me.'_

She looks around, only to see two green eyes watching her with a happy smile. She falls on her head and then quickly stands up, "Eiko! What are you doing here?"

Eiko grins as she sits down. "What do you mean? We eat here remember? By the way, did you wait long? I saw you sleeping a while ago with a trouble face… nightmares?" she asks with her famous grin, putting down her green backpack.

Dagger looks at her with a doubtful face, a look that is obviously uneasy. "I…I don't know. I have this dream lately and its haunting me or something…" she lies, sighing. It hurts not to say the truth, but for her sake, too… or is it?

Eiko taps Dagger's shoulder, hoping to get her attention. Dagger turns to her with her beautiful puzzled look, "What?"

Eiko sheepishly smiles as she blushes, "Um… do you mind if some of my friends come here to sit with us? Just this lunch."

Dagger was about to say no, but seeing the determined look on Eiko's face, she giggles and nods, "Sure, what harm does it do? Bring them over here."

Eiko smiles happily and hugs her best friend once again and kisses her on the cheek. "Oh really? Thank you, oh, thank you!" she exclaims as she lets go. She stands up as she yells, "HEY, GUYS! COME ON OVER!"

Dagger smiles as she takes out her lunch from her backpack, and putting out her chopsticks to start eating. She opens it up and was about to eat the sushi when, until,

"Hey, Dagger!" a familiar voice calls with a cheerful and manly tone. Dagger drops her sushi as she recognizes that voice immediately. "So, we meet again!"

She puts down her chopsticks on her lap as she sighs and narrows her eyes, "Yes, Zidane, unfortunately," She replies harshly, with a sarcastic tone on the word unfortunately and Zidane.

Zidane snorts as he sits down with his friend, Vivi and Eiko beside him. "Oh c'mon, you don't have to be mean forever! Or else, you'll turn to a grumpy old lady, and you won't be beautiful again!"

Dagger blushes from the word, beautiful, but then again, irritated from the 'grumpy old lady'. She glares at Zidane as she spats out, "What did you call me? Grumpy old Lady?"

Zidane grins, making him more handsome than ever as the sun shines on his face. "I was just kidding you. Hey, can't we even be friends?" he asks, offering a handshake.

Eiko laughs as she links arms with Vivi who starts to blush furiously. "Don't mind her, Zidane! She's often very picky when coming with friends!" she exclaims, grinning. She turns to Dagger who glares at her. "What?"

"Nothing…" Dagger grumbles, picking up her sushi and starts chewing on it grumpily. Zidane chuckles as she stops and looks at him, then swallowed. "What are you laughing at, something missing in your brain? If that is, the Odaiba Mental Hospital is that way!" she points to the exit of the school.

Zidane stops chuckling and grins. "Oh, c'mon. You were just cranky that's all, and it's funny to see someone pretty as you wear a long face like that."

"You have such a way with words…" she exclaims sarcastically, rolling her eyes and starts munching on another sushi. She swallows it and says in a cruel tone, "But you know, it's actually NONE of YOUR business!"

Zidane grins as he unwraps his burger and starts chewing it. "I know, that's what makes it more interesting and you more determined to catch," he says after he swallows, a grin appearing.

"Excuse me?" Dagger retorts. "Are you implying I'm a fish or chick to catch?"

Zidane winks at her as he grins and says in a sexy tone, "Yeah, a pretty fish and a sexy chick." He wiggles his eyebrows at her, receiving a slap on the head as a reply. "OUCH! Why did you do that for?"

Dagger puts away her book and swallows her dumpling. "For being a stupid and idiotic jerk!" she replies, looking away and ignoring Eiko's giggles.

Zidane grins as he chews on his burger, '_this girl sure has an attitude! Plus, pretty cute! Hmm… what should I do to make her attracted to me?'_

**To be continued…**

Hey, guys! What's up with life? Sorry for the long delay, okay? I had a HUGE writer's block! I can't believe it! Well, sorry for taking most of your time! Ja! Stay tune for the next chappie!

Replies:

**Ashitaka666 **– Hey, thanks for reviewing! Well, be happy not that it's not a secret no more! LOL! Keep reading!

**Justme2004 **– Thank you for your flattering review! Wait, all your reviews are flattering! LOL! Anyways, yeah, I have to study, but look, exams over and I'm free!! Anyways, here's your chapter!

**RefugeofSouls **– Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, we thought the same!

**GemEncrustedEarth **– Hi! Thank you for liking my story! It's kind of a horror? No, it's a tragedy! Wait... it's an adventure! Yeah, this is an **adventure**! Also, you'll know more of the story in the upcoming chapters!!

**xQtPiEx224 **– Thank you! No, I won't delete it! Thanks for liking my other one!


	4. Leave Me Alone

_**A Life With or Without You**__**  
Chapter 4: Leave me alone**__**  
By: KawaiiLeena**_

_(Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX!!! They are © to SquareSoft!!! )_

Chapter 4: Leave me alone

The last school bell rings, motioning everyone that last class is over for the day. Dagger looks at her watch as it says the time of 4:25 PM. She sighs as she sees their Science teacher, Mr. Yoshikawa or Yoshikawa-sensei, picking up his record books and starts to leave the classroom.

She sighs as she looks down, _'another boring night just like the past two years. Everyday, every night, every afternoon I go home, I'm always alone. Like a lonely fish in the dark ocean… all alone…'_

She looks at one corner and sees her friends, Rika, Mina, and Kaori picking up their own backpacks and starts to walk to her, their blue, light brown, and black eyes twinkling with happiness that Dagger hopes she have, too.

"Hey, Dagger!" Rika greets as they reach her, ignoring Zidane. "You want some ice cream in the Ice Cream Café? My treat!"

Dagger sadly smiles as she shakes her head slowly. "Thanks, but no thanks, Rika," she replies, forcing a happy tone and a smile. "I'm not in the mood for some cold ice cream right now."

Mina's twinkle in her eyes slowly disappears as she frowns and pouts, and says in a childish tone, "Why not? That's the 15th time you turned us down! Is there any time when you are available to even hang out with us?"

Dagger giggles as she looks up to her sad friends and stares to their colorful eyes. Rika's red apple cut hair made her so woman-like, and her sweet motherly personality made people see her a loving mother soon. Mina, the bully type, who has black hair ties to two Chinese buns has a boy type personality, wearing boys clothes and attitude, but she decided to continue to grow her raven hair. Kaori is the quiet but kind type, her shoulder-length light brown hair perfect for the afternoon breeze. She has a very pretty face, making her a bit popular. She loves acting very much and is one of the model students of the school.

"I'll come with you next time," Dagger pledges, smiling as the others set to their leaves. "I promise you."

Kaori smiles as she says in her shy tone of her voice, "Are you sure, Dagger?" she asks, her black eyes filled with hopes. Dagger nods, with a smile. "Promise?"

"Promise," Dagger replies. "Now, run along you three. Heard the Ice Cream Café will be crowded soon."

The three girls giggle as they made out through the door, their colorful heads soon turning to a slight distance as they disappeared through the glassy hallway. Dagger sighs as she looks down again, completely forgetting about Zidane hearing the whole conversation.

"You don't have to force a laugh and a smile if you don't want to, you know," Zidane suddenly and wisely says, grinning, not budging from his seat even though almost everyone in the school left, except for the baseball team.

Dagger rolls her eyes as she turns to the window, "Why do you care anyways? You're not me, and of course, you're not my mother, so let me be." She cruelly spats out to him, making Zidane frown for the first time.

"I may not be your mother but I am still your friend," he says plainly, really hurt of what she said. "Like your mother, I am worried and concerned about you. Pretending of what you aren't is not good. All you have to do is to be yourself."

"I am acting like myself!" Dagger retorts back, standing up and glares at him. "I am acting like the cheerful and innocent Dagger they know! I am acting what I should be!"

"But not totally, not completely," Zidane replies back, standing up also, his eyebrows a bit furrowed. He isn't used to this kind of quarrels, but this girl really needs to have a piece of his mind. "What's your problem, anyways? I never did anything to you wrong but you act like you are mad at me! I tried to be nice to you, but you always argue with me!"

Dagger backs away as she looks down and tears flood her eyes as she growls angrily, "You don't know me… You don't know anything about me! You don't know how the sufferings I suffered until now! If only you knew, then you would understand me…"

"I am trying to understand you, Dagger, but you never gave me the chance," Zidane says. "I'm trying to help you the best ways I can, but I can't, unless you let me, or US know!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Dagger yells, tears flowing freely. "YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONFLICT WHAT I DO! WHY DON'T YOU JUST RESPECT ME FOR WHO I AM? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST VALUE WHAT I WANT?"

Zidane shakes his head as he picks up his dark black backpack and gets up from his seat. He looks at Dagger hard as he prepares to leave the classroom, leaving Dagger alone, crying.

_Dagger's POV _

How dare he mistreat me like that! He doesn't even know who I am yet, doesn't know about my past… how dare he judge me like that? My life was so okay since my parents and brother died, until he came along! What's up with him anyways?

"_I'm trying to help you the best I can, but I can't, unless you let me, or US know…"_

What did he mean by that? I don't understand him… does he mean that I should open up my problems to the people I love so that they'll understand me for once? I can't do that! I can't… people will look down on me and say, "Isn't that the daughter of the family who was killed by some you-know-who?"

I can't tell anybody about this, even to my best friend, even to my friends, even to HIM. Only me, the one who killed my family and God knows. Nobody else.

Should I tell him? He looks trustful enough… but yet, sometimes looks can be so deceiving! But should I or shouldn't I? I…I can't… maybe I will, when the right time comes, but not today… I can't, and even if I will, I'll get tongue-tied about it.

_NORMAL POV_

Dagger wipes her tears as she looks at the window, seeing the baseball crew practice for the upcoming game. She sighs as she realizes it will be late, but seeing around to it, nobody would even wait for her.

'_I could commit suicide right now if I want to,' _she thinks to herself as she picks up her pink backpack. She frowns as she fixes her silky black midnight hair. _'But I can't… my family would be very disappointed when I do that. And if I did, I'll blame myself for being such a coward, for not even facing the difficult obstacles I'll soon encounter'_

She closes the classroom door and walks to the hallway, passing the 2nd floor to the first floor. As she walks down, she feels something tingly on her back, like someone is watching her from behind, the way she walks, and the way she moves, detail to detail.

She turns around, her brown eyes seeing nothing but the hallways and classroom doors. "Hello?" she calls, looking around. "Anybody there?" Silence greets her except the cheers of the cheerleaders and hawking of the eagles.

She shrugs as she walks down the stairs going down, seeing the school totally empty. Even the janitor left, too! The remains left are still the baseball members and the cheerleaders practicing.

She stops to the open field that is the shortcut to her home. She walks to the wide middle, but stops when a soft breeze runs pass her, making her shiver. She feels again the tingle on her back, and two eyes watching her somewhere.

She turns around seeing no one again; she puts her right hand to her chest as she feels it beating hard. Is there really someone out there watching her every step, or is it just her imagination?

"Anybody out there?" she whimpers, looking around, as she feels very scared. Now that she's alone in the middle of the open field, this is something very risky, for her opinion that is. What if there is really someone out there? And that someone is the one that killed her family?

"Are you scared, little girl?" a deep, hoarse voice whispers to her. Dagger jumps, as she knows that voice, but can't put the finger to it. She looks around to see who it is, but seeing no one once again.

"Are you afraid?" the voice goes on, but in a joking and evil manner. Dagger looks up, seeing no one up there, then… where does that voice come from? "You don't have to look for me, small girl, you don't have to know where my voice comes from…"

_He can read my thoughts? But how?' _Dagger thinks, scared right now, her eyes wide.

"Yes, I can read your thoughts," the voice says, followed by an evil laughter. "If you are wondering where and who I am, you will know soon… when you meet your death, of course…"

Dagger's eyebrows furrowed as she stands still and demands, "What do you want from me?" she shouts, to no one at all, well, except for that voice.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" the voice laughs. "My dear, do you still remember what happened to your family two years ago?" Dagger's eyes widen as she backs away.

"No… no…" she stammers, her eyes trembling. "You are the one who killed them are you? You are the murderer!" she shouts, pointing to the invincible air. "I can't believe you! Why did you kill my family? What have we ever done wrong to you? My sweet family gone because of you!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! You remember, I see… well, good…" the voice goes on. "Of course, I will explain that later on…"

"Show yourself, right now!" She demands, controlling her anger to explode. She wants to kill this man to avenge her family, she will avenge them to the possible ways she can. "I want to see you!"

"Very brave you are, little girl… nobody has ever dared me to show myself to them…" the voice spats out humorously. "Of course, if you truly want, you can…"

A small light appears in front of her, making it grow wider in a few moments, making her back away. The light grows bigger until it was five-seven feet tall, as it turns to a pure black, then it melts. After a while of gooey stuff, the goo transform itself to a man figure.

Another light covers the man, until a few moments, it disappears, revealing the evil version of it. A tall man about 7 feet tall stands before her, his face covered with a dirty paper bag, with blood, and a painted face with an evil smile crossing it. His dress was partially black, like the one is Scary Movie2, and his right hand, holding a big reaper with bloodstains.

Dagger backs away, seeing such horrible figure in her life. He looks like death man, her eyes widen and smalls as she looks up to him, his ugly paper bag face grinning evilly.

"Meet…" the man, says, raising up his reaper. "… The devil of death 5…"

Dagger backs away, her eyes shivering from fear. Is this man really going to kill her? Then, the one she had read in the mirror two years ago was true! He will go and kill her, but in what reason?

She looks up, to see the evil eyes of the man behind the paper bag (You know… like Persona2?). She feels she wants to faint right away, but instead she screams…

"AAAHHHH!!"

_MEANWHILE _

Zidane grumbles quietly as he walks back to the school, his dirty blonde hair messy as always, his greenish-blue eyes filled with annoyance as he walks back

"I can't believe this!" he yells angrily, rising up his hands as he walks. He furrows his eyes as he adds; "First, Vivi left me for that girl, Eiko, leaving me all alone! Then, just my luck, I forgot my house keys in the classroom! I'm so damn hell stupid!"

He sighs deeply as his eyes soften as he touches a leaf fall from a nearby tree and then he stops. Well, it wasn't Vivi's fault anyways… often times; he would leave Vivi alone for some other girl he's flirting. Now, it's his turn maybe… a taste of his own medicine.

The blonde boy looks up to the orange-yellow sky as clouds drifts off to somewhere. It was a nice view for a while, until, he feels something bad is happening. Zidane is used to this since he has the gift of sensing something wrong.

Zidane shakes his head as he stares back to his path, making the bad feeling stronger. He shakes his head as he thinks, _'the aura is coming from the school! But why… no time for thinking! This aura is strong!'_

Zidane immediately runs to the entrance of the school quickly, forgetting everything and even ignoring the people stares at him. Something is really, really wrong! And this aura is colored black, an evil aura, like what his father, Baku, told him.

Zidane reaches the school entrance, as he gasps for air from the entire exhausting running. But he notices something, the more he runs to the school, the more the aura gets stronger and deadlier. Also, a small, white and weak aura is with it and it seems to be fighting with each other.

"AAAHHH!!"

The blonde boy looks up to only see Dagger screaming as a man with a reaper tries to kill her. He immediately runs to the man and pushes him off, letting it to curse as they reach the ground.

Dagger stops screaming as she opens her tearful eyes to see Zidane fighting with the 'devil'. She blinks as she stares at them. "Z-Zidane?"

"Get off me, you stupid brat!" the reaper yells angrily, kicking Zidane off him, making Zidane fall to the ground. The reaper stands up and looks at Zidane's greenish-blue eyes as he gasps. "Y-you!"

Zidane stares up with a puzzled but angry look, "Hey, isn't Halloween a bit early in this time of year? What's up with that getup? And scaring a girl isn't nice."

The paper bag's evil smile soon magically turns to an angry frown by magic. "You are the Angel of Death! Time to retreat," he says aloud as he floats to the middle of the open field, making Zidane gasp.

The reaper turns to the very afraid Dagger and shouts at her, "I will get back at you, girl! And then, someday, we will meet each other in the depths of hell, together with your damn family!" then he turns to Zidane as a black aura ball covers him up. "And you, the Angel of Death, we will face each other soon and I will retrieve your position!" then, with a snap of his fingers, he magically disappears, making Zidane gawk with jaws down.

Dagger kneels down as she starts to cry. Why is this happening to her? All she ever wants is to have a nice life, with her friends, with or without her family, but why is life so complicated to her? Now that she discovers someone out there is watching her back and is plotting to kill her? What did she ever done to deserve this?

Zidane shakes his head as she comes back to his senses and hears someone sobbing. He turns around to see Dagger quietly crying, covering her face. His eyes soften as he walks up to her and pats her back.

"Hey, don't cry," he comforts in a gentle tone. "He's gone now, see? Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you, I promise." Though he isn't very sure about that.

Dagger looks up to Zidane's ocean green-blue eyes and finds trust deep within as she embraces him and cries on his chest. Zidane looks down in surprise, but seeing how scared she is, he hugs her back, letting her cry on his uniform.

"I'm… I'm so… scared, Zidane," she cries between sobs, hugging him tighter as her head rests on his manly chest. "That man is out… is out there… there in every… every corner to… to… to kill me… (Sob) I don't… want to… to die (sob) Zidane! I don't… don't want to… to experience… the… the same fate… like… like my family…!"

Zidane feels pity for the poor girl as he looks down on her. He kisses her hair as he looks up as questions stirred in his mind.

Why did he call him the Angel of Death?

And most importantly, who is he?

_**To be continued… **_

Hello! Hey, guys! Thanks for reading! Also to those who reviewed! On the first chapter, you noticed there was a Rikka on it! Well, I was spaced out at that time that I didn't noticed it! So please excuse the mistake. Once again, thank you. Keep on reading, everyone!!

**REVIEW!!!!**

Merry belated Christmas!!!!!  
And a happy new year!!!


	5. A Past To Revisit

**--REMINDER—okay, you might now find the story getting weirder and weirder, but to me, it gets interesting more! So, I have to warn you now that this fic contains some… uhh… magic, some transformation, some devils whatsoever, killing (though I don't write well when it comes to that stuff, so, oh well.) Some action, adventure in later chapters! So, don't say I didn't warn you! But continue reading anyways! Have a pleasant day and a good new year!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of its contents. Its characters are not fine! So please do not sue me!_

_**A Life With or Without You**__**  
Chapter 5: A Past to Revisit**__**  
By: KawaiiLeena**_

Chapter 5: A Past to Revisit

After the horrifying scene that occurred, it was already nightfall, about 6:00 PM. The sky turns dark as the sun slowly swifts down between the mountains that stood place. The baseball and cheerleading team left as practice was over. And the reaper finally left the school campus, leaving Zidane and Dagger alone.

Dagger, noticing the time, looks up to the sky with tearful eyes after she and Zidane let go. She is so scared, so scared to know that someone is watching her that she doesn't even want to go home alone. The 'devil' might meet her there, remembering he has magic to transport himself anywhere.

Zidane notices her nervousness as he sighs. _'Poor girl, I feel so sorry for her… She don't deserve a life like this.'_

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Zidane offers with a gentle tone, with a smile as his hair joins the wind. Dagger turns to him with hopeful eyes as she nods willingly. She walks up beside him, and Zidane is sure he feels the girl trembling. "Are you all right?"

"I… I'm fine, a little scared, that's all," the brunette replies as they start walking to the school exit. They pass through some oak and Sakura trees as they walk by silently.

"Why do you think that man is after you?" Zidane asks, looking up to the dark blue sky, breaking the silence. Dagger sighs and shakes her head, motioning she doesn't know why. "Funny why I think you're not that grumpy with me anymore!"

Dagger rolls her eyes as she shoves Zidane softly on the shoulder, making him chuckle. "Is that so? Then, you want me to be mean to you?" she asks quite crossly, crossing her arms in front of her bosom.

Zidane snickers as he shakes his head. "That's not what I meant," she says back. After a few minutes of silent walking and awkwardness, they finally reaches Dagger's yellowish house. "This is your house?"

Dagger nods as she takes out the keys. "Er… yeah, um… wants to go inside? If you don't mind, that is." She asks, secretly blushing pink.

The boy arches an eyebrow as he crosses his arms in front of him and asks, "What about your family?" Dagger pauses for a while, not replying back, making Zidane quite curious. "What's wrong?"

Dagger looks down, as tears flooded her eyes, not able to control her tears and secrets anymore; she turns around and hugs Zidane again, making him more surprise than ever.

"My family is dead! DEAD!" Dagger cries loudly, but seeing she is the only one who has a house in that part, she doesn't mind that much. Zidane was taken back a little at this, seeing the girl living without her family. "They… they have been killed by that man… the man we met earlier at school… two years ago…"

'_TWO years ago?' _Zidane asks loudly in his mind as his eyes widen in surprise. _'Is she meaning she's been living all alone for the past two years ever since her family was killed? Talk about rough life!'_

Dagger continues to cry on Zidane's shirt. She knows that she can never lock the secret forever, and trusting Zidane made her spill it out. For some reason, she feels a little better as she told him, ignoring the fact it made him surprise.

Zidane caresses Dagger's hair as she looks up to meet his ocean green-blue eyes with her chocolate brown ones. Zidane gently smiles at her as he asks, "Would you like me to listen your story about it? I am a good listener when it comes to problems. Besides, talking about your problems make you feel better once you say it to a friend you trust."

Dagger stares at him as she whimpers, "But can we talk about it inside? I have a creepy feeling someone is watching us from who knows where…" she looks around to the dark trees and the scattered rocks to the empty sidewalk.

Zidane nods as they let go. Dagger opens the yellowish gate and then closes it as Zidane enters. He looks around until he notices a small but beautiful garden in one corner where Lotus, Peony, Nadeshiko flowers are planted to the rich emerald green grass.

"Nice garden," he comments as Dagger unlocks the house door. "Very beautiful and colorful. Couldn't do it myself."

Dagger turns to him with a sad smile. She walks beside him to watch the garden together. "Thank you," she replies softly, but loud enough to hear. "My mother and father planted this garden many years ago. They took much hard work to make it perfect. Too bad they didn't last long to enjoy their own creation…"

Zidane glances to Dagger's eyes, seeing a tint of sadness in it. He feels so sorry for her, seeing her suffering like this. It must have been hard for her to live for the past two years, handling things all by herself.

"Why don't we go inside now? I'll prepare something for you," Dagger says softly as she turns around and opens the door, revealing the fancy the living room.

The blonde boy enters, mesmerize by the beauty of the place. He sits down in the sofa as he gawks around and while Dagger goes to the kitchen to prepare something.

A few moments later, she comes back with a tray of two glasses of orange juice and two big slices of chiffon cake she made all by herself. She puts it in the table and sits down beside Zidane.

"It all started two years ago, in the year of middle 2002. I was fourteen years old back then, cheerful, kind, good traits," she starts as Zidane turns to her with all ears. "I love my family very much. They are very special to me. My caring mother would check up on my all the time. My sweet father who would always ask me what happened in school and would offer advices, and my irritating, but protective big brother, Steiner would always fight and argue with me for smallest things. They were all I have." She continues as tears once again moisten her eyes.

"I would never forget the day when I came home from school one afternoon," she adds as she turns to Zidane who is still listening to her. She smiles at him as she continues; "I came home at exactly 5:30 PM because I had a club meeting that day, since I was the president. When I entered, I was so surprised to see the lights on."

"I did the usual routine; I shouted I was home, and I was expecting a reply, but silence met me," she says sadly, shaking her head. "I was so surprised all of a sudden. When I get home, somebody would always peep in one corner and then some, 'welcome back, Dagger', 'What happened in school today?', and a 'What's up, squirt?' would greet me, but not that day. No."

"I searched around the house for a while, thinking they might be plotting to surprise me or something. But I only saw the half-filled hot coffee of my dad and a scattered newspaper on one side. I walked to the kitchen seeing it was in total chaos, and… blood."

"Blood?" Zidane asks, as he picks up one glass of juice and starts to sip some of it. "Are you serious?"

Dagger nods and gets back to her story, "Hai, I was surprised, too that I run to one corner and hugged myself. Then, I remembered my brother and I dash to his bedroom, but disappointment met me. I didn't saw him there, only a mess of his things and the TV with the words: GAME OVER."

"I was so scared at that time, seeing my family members nowhere to be seen. What freaked me out more was seeing the house totally silent, except for the faint sounds of blood dripping and my footsteps."

"I remembered my parents room and then I immediately run there. As I got closer to the doorknob, I felt something tingly all over my body to my nerves. It's as if something was telling me not to open it. Like, an invincible voice telling my mind that I will regret it. But I have to see my family, I have to…"

"I opened it, and then… I saw my family, dead, killed. Heads, arms, legs cut by a sword or something and had been separated from the body, eyes rolled or popped out, blood everywhere. It was the most horrible thing I ever saw and something that I thought would be impossible. I was wrong, deeply wrong. Bad things DO come true… when you least expect it." Tears soon falls to her cheek, as she adds with a crack in her voice, "But it was just too much… just too much…"

Zidane stares at her with deep concern in his eyes. He wipes Dagger's tears with his hands and nods at her, motioning her to continue. This girl has been in such a tough situation two years ago. Living alone with a past so horrifying and unexplainable, plus, with a reaper after her.

"I looked up as I saw my own reflection on the full-length mirror, with blood traced on it: YOU'RE NEXT, GIRL or something like that… as I screamed loudly, I saw a black figure behind me and then… I can't say what happened next, it's so terrible and painful to tell…"

Zidane gently smiles as he puts his arm around the crying girl. "That's okay, you shouldn't force yourself if you don't want to do something." He says as Dagger looks at him and sadly smiles. "But did you told any one about it?"

Dagger shakes her head as she looks down again. "No, I didn't told anybody about it, you are the first one to know…" she replies back, leaning her back on the pink sofa.

Zidane's eyes shot up in surprise as he asks again, "Even the police?" Dagger shakes her head again. "But why didn't you told them? They could've helped you!"

"They can't help me, alright?" Dagger yells at him angrily. "They can't! The murderer made it all a perfect mystery! Even to me! There is no evidence, no witness! It seemed like it was planned all along!"

"But…!" Zidane tried to reason but Dagger stopped him.

"No buts! Can't you see?" she asks him, but Zidane refrain from replying back. "The one who killed them is the reaper, or he calls himself the 'Devil of Death 5' or something. The one who you saw earlier! Can the police stop a man who has magic? Can the police kill the reaper when the reaper itself is much more powerful than them? NO!"

"But what did you do to the bodies?" Zidane silently ask.

Dagger's eyes soften as she looks away to the window, which revealed the dark outside. "I buried them alone in the backyard and I would always visit them once a week…" she replies back. "I didn't bother telling anybody and I end up using lies when they ask me where they are, because somebody would take me to some stupid orphanage and everybody I once love would ignore me."

Zidane shake his head as he tries to protest. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is true!" Dagger turns to him. "My cousin in Korea experienced it. His parents died on a car accident and some stupid lady took him to some dirty orphanage and everybody he knew and love ignored him. A year later, he committed suicide, not able to take all of the sufferings anymore."

Zidane sighs as he sips the last drip if his orange juice and then puts it backs to the tray. He notices Dagger's glass is still full. He picks it up and hands it to Dagger.

"Want some?" he asks, handing it to her. Dagger looks at him and then nods as she take one long sip of it and then put it back on the tray, picks it up and walks to the kitchen. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to put this on the sink and wash them," she replies as she walks away. "I'll be right back."

Zidane nods as he runs his hand through his messy blonde hair. He looks around the fancy things where his eyes could go. But questions filled his mind: Who is that black reaper? Why did he feel a strong black and evil aura within the devil he met earlier? And who is this Angel of Death?

'_Am I this Angel of Death?' _he asks himself. _'Do he and I have some connection? Sure, I have some powers, like feeling others aura and some simple magic, but Angel of Death? I have to ask Baku about this! Maybe he –'_

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" a high-pitched voice screams in the kitchen, followed by the breaking of glasses and plates, which made Zidane jump in surprise.

"Dagger!" he cries, as he immediately stands up and runs to the kitchen is full speed. As he gets there, he is surprised to see Dagger crying, kneeling down and covering her face with her delicate and soft hands.

He runs up to her and tries to hug her as he ask with gentle eyes, "What's wrong, Dagger? Why are you crying?"

Dagger turns to him with tearful eyes as she points her left index mirror to the wall. "L-look t-t-there… Zidane…"

Zidane arches an eyebrow as he looks up to the wall. A matter of few seconds, his eyes widen in fear, as he reads the blood traced:

"**Prepare to meet your death by the end of the Lunar month, girl…"**

_**To be continued… **_

Hi!! Sorry for not making the story not too dramatic! But hey, I did write this with my heart's content! Sorry for anyone who's confused right there! If you have any questions, leave it on your review! But please, if you are confuse, try to understand the story more so that you won't get 'what?' 'What does she mean?' or something like that!! Oh yeah, you'll know more about Dag's past in the next Chappie!

Thank you for reading! Happy holidays everyone!!!


	6. Knowing More

_**A Life With or Without You**__**  
Chapter 6: Knowing More**__**  
By: KawaiiLeena**_

**(DISCLAIMER: I do not own FFIX. Do not sue me please!)**

Chapter 6: Knowing More

Dagger jumps on her bed as she finally reaches her bedroom. A few moments earlier, Zidane left, but he promised to come back early in the morning tomorrow since it's Friday and tomorrow is Saturday.

Dagger closes her brown eyes as she remembers the blood traced on the wall earlier. She was so scared to even look at it that she cried covering her face. Good thing Zidane offered to clean it that she willingly agreed.

She opens her eyes as she stares at the white ceiling above her. _'To me, life is getting too complicated to handle. Now, some so-called devil is after me to get my head. I can't believe this…'_

Just then, the bedroom slightly opens that Dagger quickly sits up and looks at it. Surprisingly, it was a peach-colored cat. Dagger sighs as she looks up and smiles and motions the cat to come to her as it willingly did and jumps to her arms. Dagger caresses it soft fur as she says,

"Oh, Mosh! You scared me!" she exclaims as she continues to stroke the cat's soft fur. The cat purred in response. "Don't ever do that again!" she warns the cat. Then she lets go, letting the cat have the freedom of roaming around the soft bed.

"You know, Mosh? Something happened creepy back there in the kitchen a while ago," Dagger says to the cat heartedly, as she knows the cat is listening to her. "The reaper gave me another message! It was so scary! But you know what? What's scaring me more is that he told me that he'll kill me in the end of the month."

The cat purrs at her. "Yeah, I know." Dagger replies back, as if she understood the cat's response. "I really don't understand anything at all. My first question is, why is he after me and why did he kill my family in the first place?"

_He is after your powers, Mistress… _

Dagger looks up as she hears a voice inside her mind as she asks in a scary tone, "Who are you?"

_I am your cat, Mistress, or your precious Mosh… _

Dagger gasps as she looks down to her cat, seeing its blue cat eyes staring at her intently. It is as if he is talking to her through telepathy.

"Mosh?" Dagger whimpers, as she feels herself getting smaller. She leans towards her cat and studies it. "Is that really you?"

_Yes, it is I, Mistress. Mosh, the cat you preciously own… But now, it's Yua, to you… or the Guardian of the Sealed White Magic..._

"Y-yua? Guardian of White Magic?" Dagger exclaims, blinking. She rubs her eyes and taps her head softly as she shakes her head. "I must be dreaming. Yes, I am daydreaming!" she narrows her eyes at Mosh as she says, "You are not Yua, aren't you? Maybe it's that reaper guy trying to trick me. And besides, I'm no Mistress! I'm just plain Dagger, nothing else!"

_Believe it or not, you are the present Mistress of the White Magic, and I am the cat, talking to you through telepathy. I am also called, Yua, the present Guardian of White, but I am sealed, because I am weak… _

"Please, stop talking to me about all this nonsense!" Dagger shouts angrily, closing her eyes tightly. "I am not the Mistress, and you are just a plain, old, ordinary cat!"

_THIS IS NOT NONSENSE!_An angry voice tells her. _This is a serious matter that involves life and death! If you want to live, listen to me! Or else, many of you will die, especially the boy, Zidane!! _

Dagger stops as she slowly puts down her hands to her lap, then, looks at the cat as she unsurely says, "Alright, I will listen…"

_Good, now, let me start from the beginning. There are three dimensions in this world. The portal of evil and black magic, and the portal of good and white magic, and the last, the portal of without magic, and that is, the Earth. _

_I belong to the portal of good and white magic. To my very existence, I am called the Yua, the Guardian of that portal. For many years, the two magic dimensions became enemies and this led to wars and battles to see who gets the world without magic. At last, our King, Andromeda, proclaimed that the other portal is slowly getting stronger and stronger as their technology fastened and their magic more advanced. He then, told us that we should pick one human on Earth to be the Mistress of White Magic, a strong and brave girl that can defeat the evil enchantments of the other portal._

_Then, the king assigned me to protect and guide the future Mistress. But sadly, I am weak. That is why I am transformed to a mere cat. I cannot protect the Mistress, for that is you, my dear. For me to go back to my original form, you must collect all crystal diamonds scattered around Odaiba and other near parts before the reaper, or the devil of death 5, gets it. _

Dagger looks at the cat dumbfounded. She blinks her eyes as she says, "Me? Collect them? But why, and what is the connection of my so-called powers and this crystal diamonds? What are the reapers purposes?"

_You have other unnatural powers aside from being a Mistress, my dear. A power that even the reaper himself cannot defeat. It is entrusted within you, but you cannot let it out, because you still don't know how. But once you collected all the crystal diamonds, the power within you will get stronger. The reapers purposes are to kill you so that his plan of conquering the white portal and this world will not be stopped and to get your powers also. I cannot defeat him alone, because half of my powers are shared with you. _

Dagger sighs as she shifts comfortable. "Okay, I get it. But I forgot to ask but who is this reaper anyway?"

_The original name of this reaper is Bansho, the ultimate banshee and the son of the king of the evil portal. He is a cold-blooded black mage banshee that has the greed of taking over his father's throne. But before he will, he must unite all the crystal diamonds in order to be king, but since the crystal diamonds are scattered in all parts of Odaiba, he is transported here to find them. But when he discovered you are the Mistress of White Magic, he simply decided to kill your family first and then you, because he knew that killing your family would deeply depressed you and will wander your thoughts away from certain matters such as this. _

"But why did you told me now? Why didn't you told me earlier those past two years?" questioned Dagger.

_Because today is the right time to tell you, now that you need to act fast! Time is approaching and if you do not take action immediately, tragedy will not only happen to you, but also to the whole Odaiba and other parts of the world. You are the only hope against all evil right now, and I am here, to guide you to your adventure! _

"What? What do you mean?" Dagger asks, quite surprised. "You haven't even answered my other questions yet…"

_Quiet, child and you go get some sleep, you are probably tired… I will soon tell you the other details… But do not worry, you are not traveling alone… a certain boy will come with you… _

Dagger looks at 'Yua' confusedly, but then again, she yawns sleepily as she rests her head on her pink pillow as she falls into a deep and peaceful sleep.

_And that boy is none other than the Angel of Death… _

XXX _Meanwhile… _XXX

Zidane slams open a wooden door as he angrily walks in, seeing his father, Baku, sitting on a chair by his study table, reading some business papers. His father turns around, surprised a see a very angry Zidane staring back at him.

"What's wrong, Zidane, my boy?" Baku asks as he quietly turns his body around. "Is something bothering you? Is it that Kuja is bothering you again? Mikoto annoying you?"

"Neither of those two, dad," Zidane replies back, closing the door behind him as he pulls another chair and sits in front of his father. "All I want is answers. That's all. And being your son, I want you to tell me the truth."

Baku shrugs as he grins. "Sure, Zidane. What is it?"

Zidane takes a deep breath as his greenish-blue eyes locks to his father's brown ones. "Who am I really?"

Baku pauses for a while, and his expression changed. It's as if he was taken back a while ago. And it's as if that question struck him with a flash of lightning. He does not budge as he looks at Zidane's serious eyes.

"What makes you ask that?" Baku asks him quietly, as if it is almost a quiet whisper.

Zidane rolls his eyes as he answers, "Well, just a little while ago, some idiot that was attacking a girl called me the 'Angel of Death'. And this guy has magic! And he calls himself the Devil of Death 5. Now, I don't understand anything at all." He turns to Baku's eyes as it pleads, "All I want now is the truth. Dad, who really am I?"

Baku stares at his middle 'son' with sad brown eyes. He takes a deep breathe as he closes his eyes and thinks of a way to clearly explain everything to him. But can he take it? Will the truth hurt him? Let's just hope not.

"Zidane, you are… not my real son," Baku says sadly, looking away as Zidane's eyes widen in surprise and in shock. "There are three dimensions of this planet, the evil, the good, and this world. The evil dimension controls and summons all kinds and sorts of black magic while the good controls white magic and summons all Crystal Diamonds. I belong to the good portal."

"The evil and the good have been enemies ever since I could remember. One day, the evil dimension produced kinds of genomes with unnatural and unexplainable powers that were guaranteed 100 that if they succeed producing this kind of experiment; they would conquer the other world and this world. One of them was the most powerful of them all, but surprisingly, they produced him with a strange aura, a powerful kind whitish-black aura, that can blow up the three dimensions at once. They called him, The Angel of Death, and that is you."

"The king of the black world was so happy to hear this Angel of Death that he pronounced that if they succeed in the war, the Angel of Death will claim his rightful throne. But, his son, Bansho, got angry. He questioned his father why did he choose a mere genome over his son? The king simply told him that only the strongest of all would retrieve the throne and rule over the evil world. But the king gave a way how to have the throne back, and that was to steal the Crystal Diamonds."

"Since then, a spy servant that disguised himself as a black member was assigned to take care of you. He overheard that Bansho decided to sneak in the castles of the White dimension to take the Crystal Diamonds himself. He immediately reported this to the King of white magic and the white magic members quickly scattered the 7 crystal diamonds to the parts of the other world to Odaiba, Japan. When Bansho failed his attempt, he got over another idea to retrieve the throne to himself, and that was to secretly kill you."

"The spy heard this and decided to hide you, since you were a kind genome since then, unlike some of the other members there. He went back to the other dimension carrying you into his arms and went to me and asked me to evacuate the place immediately and go to Earth. I heed to his word and I went here to raise you with Kuja and Mikoto."

Zidane stares at his so-called 'Dad' and sighs. He smiles sadly as he looks away to the other corner. So that is the story. HIS story. The truth behind all these years.

The blonde genome stands up as he heads to the door. "Thanks for telling me the truth," Zidane says behind his back. "Even though you and I aren't connected and related to some way, I still think you are the best dad any teen can have." Then, Zidane walks out the room with a smiling Baku behind.

_IN THE SAME TIME… _

Vivi yawns as he jumps to his red-colored single-sized bed in his bedroom. Such a day it was earlier! He and Eiko had some fun in the amusement park that it left him terribly exhausted.

Just then, the door opens, revealing his good old grandfather, Kio. Vivi smiles at this and sits up as Kio sits beside him.

"Are you tired?" Kio asks his grandson with heart-warming smile. Vivi nods as he yawns once again, and starts to stretch his arms. Kio laughs as he pats Vivi's head. "That's OK, my boy. Are you practicing your black magic daily?"

Vivi secretly smiles to his grandfather as he replies, "Of course. Every early morning, I go to the backyard to try out some spells."

Kio nods as he stands up. "Good, then," he says as he slowly walks to the door. "Just want to make sure. Good night, Vivi. Sweet dreams."

"G'night, grandfather. You, too," Vivi replies as he jumps again to his bed and pulls up the covers. Kio nods with a smile and closes the door gently as Vivi falls into a deep sleep.

Unknown to him, two black eyes is watching him all this time by his bedroom window. The unknown man evilly smiles as he says to himself,

"**_You will soon be mine…_**"

_**To be continued… **_

Hello! Thanks for the reviews everyone. I really appreciate it. I thank all of you. Thanks. And read my other fic, One Day We'll Meet Again. Thanks.

Well, Review!


	7. The Truth

_**A Life With or Without You  
**_**_Chapter 7: 1st Day: Looking Deep  
_**_**By: KawaiiLeena**_

Chapter 7: Looking Deep

Dagger opens her eyes as the morning sun rises to the blue-tinted endless sky. The turns around to face the white ceiling that stood above her. She quickly remembers her family that she loves so much that she never expected for them to be killed like the way she remembered.

If she could only revisit back time, she would go back to when her family got killed. She'll go back home earlier than usual, don't attend the meeting and POOF! She'll get killed with her family! Really, really simple, isn't it? If only it DID happen.

Now, one thing has been added to her none ending problems: The reaper and the crystal diamonds.

Dagger sighs as she turns around again and faces the bedroom window and started to gaze at the outside world. It is such a wonderful view, big and tall trees, emerald swaying grass, cheerful and chirping birds, sky-blue sky, so beautiful.

Dagger smiles at the sight of this as she slowly sits up and stretches her arms. Another Saturday morning! …Of course, without her family… She remembered that every Saturdays, she and her family would often go to picnics, to the amusement park, shop in the mall, many other sorts of old-fashioned families do.

But now, all those will be no more.

The brunette sighs as she jumps out of bed and goes to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She opens the bathroom door and gracefully enters, and starts taking off her pink cherry blossoms printed pajamas off her.

She turns on the shower, feeling the cold drops of water falling to her naked body. She sighs once more as another moment pass…

XXX _LATER _XXX

After 30 minutes, Dagger walks out of her bedroom door her midnight black hair a little wet, wearing a simple, plain white T-shirt with a blue short that is up to her knees. She walks down by the wooden classic stairs to the neat germ-free kitchen.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Dagger turns around as she wonders who could that be. She walks through the living room to the door, and as she opens it, she is very much surprised to see her bubbly best friend, Eiko, on her porch, smiling as usual, wearing a lavender dress up to her knees.

"Ohayoo?" Dagger greets dumbfounded, blinking. Eiko rolls her eyes as she pouts like a child. "What?"

Eiko crosses her arms as she looks away. "HMPH! I can't believe that my only best friend would be very sarcastic to greet me!" she complains, not noticing Dagger roll her brown eyes.

"Oh really? You want me to exclaim, 'Eiko! Eiko! You're here! It's so nice to see you! Come in! Come in!'" exclaims Dagger, mimicking a high-pitched voice while her face disgusted. Eiko giggled in reply as she nods.

"Well, kind of!" Eiko replies back, smiling. "Aren't you going to welcome me to come in?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, come in," Dagger quickly adds, widening the door for Eiko to come in. Eiko grins as she walks out like a very sophisticated lady, or a queen. Dagger shakes her head as she closes the door. "Cut the act, Eiko. It's disgusting."

Eiko giggles as she playfully slaps Dagger on the shoulders. "Aw, c'mon, I was just playing around," she says with a proud grin. She walks to the living room and starts to sit on one of the single-sized sofa. "So, your family hasn't gone back yet?"

Dagger bit her lower lip as she replies; "N-no… they said they have to fix some papers in my grandparents neighborhood. They won't be back after some… months?" Dagger tries to reason enough, but her voice didn't sound too much convincing.

Eiko arches an eyebrow, and she could feel a tint of nervousness behind the tone of her best friend. Also, she could sense that someone is watching them, but she brushed it off.

"Oh ok!" Eiko say in her usual happy tone. The purple-haired girl looks around again as Dagger goes to the kitchen. She frowns a bit as she could sense sadness around the house. Two years ago, whenever she'll visit here, noise is always to be heard. Dagger and her older brother, Steiner, would never pass a day without a fight of insults and screams. She also remembers that Mr. Alexandros would sometimes watch T.V., ignoring the shouts of his two children, making it a lot noisier. And then, Mrs. Alexandros would always be in the kitchen, trying out new recipes, her kettle boiling with water.

But now, it looks empty, totally empty.

The noisy house before is now the sad, empty and quiet house. The noise and screams are gone. She noticed that since two years ago. She remembers that when she goes home from school everyday, she noticed the house dark, sad, empty, and the liveliness gone for good. She also noticed she had never seen any of the Alexandros family members ever since.

'_I guess everything change once in a while,' _Eiko thinks as she sighs. Then something struck her. _'Or maybe something tragic happened that Dagger does not want to tell me? A dark secret maybe?'_

XXX _EIKO'S POV _XXX

Maybe something strange did happen! As I see to it, ever since two years ago about middle 2002, I never saw any of the Alexandros family before. Like, they were gone or something. It's as if they just disappeared all of a sudden!

Something is fishy around here. And I'm sure Dagger is hiding something from me, but what? But first, let me get this mystery solve!

First clue: Whenever I ask Dagger about her family, she gets really nervous and starts to stammer. She also gets really jumpy and sometimes pauses a little, like thinking of what to say.

Second clue: Ever since two years ago, I never saw any of the Alexandros family members again. Well, except for Dagger that is. It's as if they disappeared instantly.

Third clue: Sometimes, when I walk home from school, I always see the Alexandros house dark and empty. Like no one is home. I find that too hard to believe because Mrs. Alexandros is always home and there would always be lights on.

Fourth clue: I noticed a sudden change of Dagger since two years ago. She became more and more distant, and sometimes, I notice she is in another world, a world far away from reality. Her mind is sometimes on the clouds and I have to get her attention to listen to me.

Well, that's all the clues! And I'm sure behind that, there is a story to tell. I sense something wrong also is going around here. And I have to figure that out! Even all by myself!

(A/n: Poor Eiko! So naïve, ne?)

XXX _NORMAL_ _POV_ XXX

Eiko finishes her thoughts as she stands up and joins Dagger to the kitchen as the brunette herself cooks breakfast. The cheerful purple-haired girl walks beside her best friend as she watches her peel off hot dogs (A/n: Yeah, we have hot dogs for breakfast sometimes!).

"Want me to help?" Eiko asks with a bright smile. Dagger turns to her and nods willingly. "Great! Um… what will I do?" she asks quite awkwardly as she paces down to the refrigerator.

"Can you please mix a pitcher of orange juice?" Dagger politely asks as she turns to the stove and turns the gas on. Eiko nods as she opens the ref. and pulls out a pitcher of cold water. "The juices are in that corner," Dagger points to the side of the sink where many kinds of fruit juices are to be seen as she starts to cook her hot dogs.

"Gotcha," Eiko answers back as she starts to mix the ingredients altogether. It was fun for a while, helping things out, but what bothers Eiko most is that the fact that it is terribly quiet. Dagger didn't utter a single word.

'_That's strange… whenever we do things like this, we are always chatting…' _Eiko thinks disappointedly as she looks down to the orange juice. _'What happened then? I don't get it why she is so distanced now…_'

After a few minutes, all preparations are done. The hot dogs look totally delicious, as the sweet aroma filled the room, making the two girls hungry. Dagger puts it in the middle of the table as she picks another plate and stuffs it with rice.

"Want to join me for breakfast?" Dagger asks with a forced smile, turning to her best friend while she puts the rice and the juice on the table.

"Sure! I guess there's still room in my stomach!" Eiko exclaims cheerfully as she pulls a sit opposite of Daggers and starts to eat. It was a very delicious meal, but like always, very quiet. Eiko decided to start a conversation.

"So, Dagger," she starts. Dagger turns her complete attention to her best friend. "What are you planning this weekend?"

Dagger shrugs as she swallows. "I dunno, hang out in the house with Zi—" the brunette immediately stops as she realizes what she was going to say that she quickly continues, "…with somebody. Talk about something_ important_."

Eiko arches an eyebrow as she says suspiciously, "Oh really? And who is this somebody?" she asks, looking at Dagger intently. Dagger starts to feel uneasy as she shrugs nervously. Eiko then burst with giggles.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Dagger asks with a confused look, looking up from her meal. Eiko shakes her head and smiles. "Okay…. If that is what you want…"

After their quiet meal, Dagger offers to wash the dishes while Eiko decides to stroll around. This made Dagger anxious. What if Eiko finds about the grave in the back? Then her secret will be spilled.

"Okay, you can stroll around, I guess," Dagger nervously stammers. "But please, I beg of you, don't you ever enter in the backyard. Please."

Eiko frowns and turns around and puts her hands on her hips and sighs, "Why not, Dagger?" The amber-eyed girl just looks down and mutters a please. The emerald-eyed girl pouts and nods, "Fine, fine. I won't." _A sneak peek won't hurt…_

Dagger forces a smile and bows slightly, "Thank you." Then she turns around to the sink and starts to do her job of washing the dishes. _– I'm sorry, Eiko…-_ Dagger thinks. _– I'm not ready to tell you yet. Maybe when the right time comes. Maybe. ­-_

Eiko then starts to leave the kitchen and walks to the living room. It is quite an elegant room, and she remembers so well that Mrs. Alexandros was the one who designed it. She was quite a designer, with great taste. She smiles at the idea.

She then walks towards a small table with several portraits of the family. There is a picture of Dagger when she was still 3 years old, hugging a teddy bear and a smile on her face. There is another portrait of Steiner, so big ands strong, standing proudly. Another portrait is to be seen of the couple, Mr and Mrs. Alexandros, hugging together, and another frame of the whole family, laughing and smiling.

"But what happened…?" Eiko asks with a sad frown as she starts to slide her index finger on the smooth material of the family picture. "Why has everything changed?" she whispers again. She sighs and stands up and continues to explore.

She walks past the hallway to the Steiner's room. She opens the door, only to reveal not the before messy and smelly room, but a neat, clean, fresh and empty room. She frowns at this and enters, studying the surrounding. Yes, the play station and TV is still there, the study papers and books, the dark bed. Everything is in their place, but it feels so empty.

Eiko sighs and whispers to herself, "This is very unusual. Something is going on." She narrows her eyes as she remembers Dagger's words, _"Don't you ever enter the backyard…"_

Maybe Dagger is indeed keeping something from her, and the secret is from that backyard. She has to go there! She has to! But she promised Dagger she won't… she won't…

"I'm sorry, Dagger," Eiko says, looking down and clenching her fists. "But I have to go there. Forgive me with this one." She sighs and turns around and leaves the room and walks to the kitchen, since the door to the backyard is located in there.

She glances slowly, surprised to see Dagger gone. She furrows her eyebrows and slowly walks towards the door, and glances again to the door window. Her eyes went open when she sees Dagger crying before… before… three graves.

"W-what is this…?" she asks to herself, suddenly understanding the problem. "So this is it… The Alexandros family… is… is dead. Dagger is hiding this secret from me, but why…?" she soon starts to feel sorry as she sees Dagger crying over the flowers she is carrying. "I'm sorry, Dagger…"

Cannot taking it anymore, Eiko softly and slowly opens the backyard door, making Dagger look up in surprise and to have red eyes. "Eiko…" Dagger mumbles, and starts to wipe the streams off water off her face. "So, now you know… don't you? I'm sorry I was keeping this from you… I just don't want to get hurt…"

Eiko's green eyes soften and smiles, as she walks forward and hugs her best friend tightly. "No, I should be sorry, Dagger… I should've been here to comfort you… I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Dagger accepts the open arms and cries on Eiko's shoulder, "It hurts, Eiko… all of them was killed by an unknown murderer. I can't take all of this… it's driving me insane."

Eiko rubs her friend's back and reassures, "Don't worry, Dagger. I'm here for you." She says this with a weak smile, her eyes in water. "We're best friends, right? No matter what the consequences, we will be together."

Dagger doesn't reply but only nods and continues to cry in Eiko's arms…

"**_That's what you think, Mistress,"_** a man with a dark cape over his head mumbles to himself evilly, a wicked grin on his face…

_**To be continued…**_

I'm very sorry for the late delay! Studies are cramming up and you know what? The next chapter of the One Day We'll Meet Again was accidentally deleted! DAMN! I was so close, so, hope you understand. Again, I'm sorry for the long delay! Please read my YEARS AFTER fic! It's gotten better:)

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	8. Secrets

**A Life With or Without You  
**_**Chapter 8: First Day: Secrets  
**__**By: KawaiiLeena**_

Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX!

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Sorry it took so long! I guess I'm pretty well lazy these days! Gomen!

Here's your chapter!

Chapter 8: Secrets

After all secrets were discovered, and a few comforting from a loyal friend, Eiko found out it was time to go and leave Dagger for a while to be with herself. Eiko sigh as she parts from the sad Dagger.

"Dagger, I have to go. It's already 11:00 noon," Eiko starts, looking at the crying girl sadly. Dagger nods and lets go of Eiko. Eiko smiles and stands up as she heads out to the door, when Dagger called out,

"Don't you want to stay for lunch?" Dagger asks, secretly inside that she wants to have some company with her. Eiko turns around and shakes her head. "Oh, okay. I guess your house needs you, huh?"

Eiko nods and responds, "Yeah, I'm sorry. But I'll try and come tomorrow if you want to." Dagger smiles back and nods. With a satisfied look, Eiko leaves the Alexandros residence.

Dagger sighs. She's alone, again, all by herself, with no one to be with, no one to talk to. The sad girl sighs again, then looks up as she hears someone knocking by her gate. Curious, Dagger stands up and looks outside, to see Zidane.

"Zidane?" Dagger asks, bewildered, ignoring her heart that seems to flutter. Secretly, she was happy to see him. Wait a minute! Isn't he supposed to be her enemy? Then, she glares at him, "What are you doing here?"

Zidane chuckles quietly, his blonde hair shining below the sunlight, "Hey, where'd the soft side go?" Dagger secretly blushes pink. "Anyways, just came to see if you're alright. But if you want me to leave, it's okay."

Dagger hesitated for a moment when she saw Zidane getting ready to leave, that she yelled, "No! Wait!" Zidane turns around, confused. "I mean… don't go… yet." Zidane smiles at her, making her heart flutter again. _'What is happening to me?'_

"I thought you want me to leave?" Zidane asks (Before I forget, he's wearing white shorts and sky-blue T-shirt), running a hand through his messy blonde hair. Dagger looks away. "Haha… just joking. Anyways, can I come in?"

Dagger gives a simple nod and opens the gate for him to come in. After a few moments, they are seen inside the house, talking to each other.

"So, any news?" Zidane asks, looking at Dagger's soft features.

Dagger looks at him and says in the casual tone, "Well, I got a few information." Zidane nods. "The reaper that was following me was named Bansho, an evil banshee from the portal of evil magic…" Zidane's eyes widen. That's what Baku told him. Then, Dagger tells him everything Yua told her except that she was the mistress.

Zidane didn't move, as if he was frozen. Dagger looks at him worriedly. "Zidane, are you alright?" Zidane wakes up from his frozen state and forces a smile. "You sure?"

"Yeah," he replies. "It's just that, I also found some interesting facts myself."

Dagger's eyes widen in surprise and ask, "Really? Spill."

So, Zidane told her everything that Baku told him. Himself not his real child, the true story behind Bansho's attempts to catch and kill him, he being the Angel of Death. To other people, this seems like utter nonsense, but to them, it is reality, a scary reality that cannot be hidden and be refused.

"So…" Dagger starts as she puts her hand on her chin. "… That's why the reaper was threatening you… that's why he claimed he will steal your position." She shuddered at the idea. "That's scary."

"Tell me about it," Zidane agrees, chuckling a little. He turns to Dagger. "Somehow, I don't get it how we got involved in this mess… and myself starting falling for you."

Dagger turns to him with a faint blush, "Wha… what are talking about?" Zidane doesn't reply and leans over closer to her, as if wanting to kiss those pink and delicious lips. Dagger's eyes widen, "Zidane…!" before anything happened, Dagger looks away, making Zidane surprise.

"Wow," Zidane smirks, running a hand through his hair. "That's the first time a beautiful woman turned a handsome man like me down." Dagger glares at him and stands up, and starts to walk to the hallway. "H-hey! Where are you going?"

Dagger stops and glances behind her shoulder, "My room. You can come if you want, but no stupid pranks." She then leaves without a word.

Zidane shrugs and follows the beautiful brunette up to her room, where the door was beautifully carved. As he enters, he could smell Dagger's famous perfume… like… Cherry Blossom. Inside was very neat and clean, unlike his. Everything was tidy and properly placed, nothing like his also.

"Nice room," he comments, glancing around and closing the door.

"Thanks," the amber-eyed girl mutters, sitting on her bed and then start taking down notes about what happened yesterday. Suddenly, the door opens, making Zidane jump in surprise, but as he saw the creature, he calmed down.

"Jeez," Zidane whines, putting both his hand on the back of his head. "I thought it was the damn reaper, but it's just a cat!"

There, in front of the two teenagers, was a flesh-colored cat, with entrancing golden eyes, which is none other but Dagger's 'cat', Mosh.

"I am not just a cat, you lousy brat," the cat said, making Zidane's hair on his neck stand up. "People these days show no respect to others."

"YIKES!" Zidane jumps, his ocean blue-green eyes widening. "THE CAT TALKS!" he starts to hide behind the calm Dagger. "Dag, aren't you afraid or something? That darn cat talks! TALKS!"

"I know, Zidane," Dagger smiles at him. "I already know that. Formerly, that is my cat, Mosh. But now, he's Yua." Zidane turns to her questioningly. "Yup, he's not a cat. He's the guardian of the white portal of magic."

Zidane's eyes widen. "Seriously?"

Dagger nods her head, "Yes," she smiles again, and then frowns. "Now, can you take your hands off me? It hurts, you know."

Zidane looks down, and blushes. His hands that was previously on her shoulders was now at her waist, clutching tight He lets go and mumbles, "Sorry."

"Oh, I am sorry for Zidane's misbehavior earlier, Yua," Dagger apologizes, giving a weak smile. Yua nods in a cat state. "Anyways, as you can see, he is the Angel of Death."

The cat secretly smirks. "Ah… yes, I know that."

"You know?" Dagger's eyes flew open. "B-but…"

"Yes, I know that this lousy brat here is the Angel of Death," the cat speaks. Zidane glares at him. "As you can see, Dagger dear," the cat continues, circling them by the bed. "I was formerly Zidane's caretaker when the Banshee's were experimenting him. I was the man who helped him fled the lands of evil so that he won't get killed by Bansho."

"What?" Zidane exclaims, crawling to the cat, not noticing the glare he received from Dagger because he was ruining the neatness of the bed. "You mean… y-you-re…"

"Yes, yes, yes," Yua says, very annoyed. "I already told you. You were so gentle, kind, and obedient. I just don't know why you are like this now."

"Hey!" Zidane rolls his eyes. "Anyways, why don't I remember anything when I was in this portal of evil magic thingy?"

The cat turns to him and replies, "I sealed it with my magic. It is still there by the corner of your mind, locked up." The cat turns away. "You mustn't remember those memories, Zidane. Or else, it will result to chaos."

Zidane snorts, "Why so?"

The cat smirks at him, "You will find out soon enough." Then it turns to Dagger and crawls up to her. "Dagger, we don't have much time. We have to get those seven crystals that contains the powers of Shiva, Ifrit, Ark, Ramuh, Bahamut, Odin and Alexander, the summons of the white portal."

"But how can we get them, Einstein?" Zidane asks, rolling his eyes as he starts tossing one pillow to the air. "We don't even know what it looks like."

The cat turns to him and says, "According to what I remember, the crystals are shaped like stones, that glitters all over and has amazing colors. Shiva: Ice Blue, Ifrit: Dark Red, Ark: Amber Brown, Ramuh: Sky Blue, Bahamut: Red Orange, Odin: Auburn Brown, and Alexander: Pure White."

Zidane looks at it blankly, "You know everything."

The cat smirks, "I wasn't chosen to be the Guardian of the White Portal just because of my skills, you know." Then the cat turns to Dagger, "We have to gather them all before Bansho gets his filthy hands on it. So, starting tomorrow, we will do your training. Then, the next day, we will start searching."

Dagger looks hesitant before answering, "I have no problem for tomorrow, but… on Monday, we have classes." The cat's shoulders fell. "Yeah, b-but not to worry, by dismissal, we can start searching."

"Fine," the cat gives up with a secret sigh. "Very well then, we shall start your training tomorrow. As for me, I will by the roof." The cat leaves off.

Zidane scratches his head, "Well, that was something."

Dagger sighs and looks at the window, gazing by the blue sky that seems so endless and free, "You know what, Zidane?" Zidane turns to her. "All I ever wanted was to have a free, simple life with my family. A life with no problems, so worries… and… and when I discovered that my family got killed, I thought it was the end of me…"

"I wanted to go and commit suicide, but I… I felt a force stopping me…" Dagger sighs. "And… and another force was there that led me to live a life full of lies. Two years ago, everything that surrounded me changed. I never knew if it was for the better or for the worse… but one thing for sure, I never liked it."

"To other people, they think I have everything. They think I am perfect, a girl with hopes and dreams, and a girl with a happy face. An ordinary girl," Dagger continues, oblivious to the fact tears were forming in her amber eyes. "But they knew nothing about me. Outside, I may be happy, but it's just a mask, a mask to cover what I truly feel right now. A mask to let people know that I am not sad."

"Dagger," Zidane starts. "Why do you keep doing this? Why do you have to hide yourself from what you really are? Hide yourself from the people you love?"

Dagger closes her eyes, the tears now flowing down. "I don't want to trouble them. I don't want to let them feel sorry for me." She turns to Zidane. "I don't want them to know that the perfect girl lost her parents because of a mad lunatic Banshee. So with that, I used up lies and deception throughout the years…"

Dagger bows her head down, her shoulders shaking, "I lied to my teachers, I lied to my friends, I lied to my classmates, I lied to my loved ones, I lied to my relatives, I lied to my best friend… and most importantly," her knees touched the ground as she cried, "I lied to myself!"

Zidane looks at the girl with pity as he walks towards her. Then, he embraces her tight, not wanting to let her go. "Dagger, my father told me this when a friend of mine died, that 'If you want to cry, then cry. But you cannot be sad forever.'"

Dagger nods, her tears still flowing, "I…I understand…" she looks up to meet Zidane's blue-green eyes. "Thank you… f-for being there for me, even though you are the least person I would expect to be by my side."

Zidane chuckles, "Did I heard I sarcasm back there?"

The brunette giggles and slaps him playfully, "Maybe." Then she stands up. "Well, I'm going to make lunch. Care to join me?"

Zidane shakes his head, "Nah… maybe next time. My older brother, Kuja, wants me to go shopping with him." Dagger looks at him oddly. Zidane gives a nervous laugh. "Hehe… well, he's gay… so yeah…"

Dagger nods, "Oh… I see." Then she smiles brightly, "then, can I escort you back to the door, then?" Zidane chuckles, and gives a nod, as both of them walks towards the door.

**_Nearby…_**

Vivi huffs and puffs as he wipes a sweat off his forehead. He is now in the middle of their backyard, practicing his Black Magic. "Now," he starts. "One more try." He closes his eyes, and then points his wooden staff to his left side, "Firaga!"

Then, a medium sized Fire appeared from him as he exclaims, "YES!" then, the fire fades, a tall man with a black hood and a paper bag covering his face appears from out of nowhere, surprising Vivi. "W-what… w-who a-a-are you?"

"I am the legendary Bansho of the Banshees," it grins. "And now, you will be my slave! I will be your MASTER!" it casts a spell on Vivi, making Vivi fall to the ground.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! With you as my puppet, nothing can stop me! Of course, Dagger cannot attack a new student of her school! Surely, that will make her popular reputation go down! And without doubt, Zidane cannot attack his OWN best friend, either! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAH!" the Bansho exclaims, raising its hands to the air. "Stand up, you puppet of mine…"

Silently and slowly, Vivi stands up, but this time it was different. His eyes were no longer the shy and cheerful golden yellow, but, instead, a dark and evil shade of red, bloodlust and violence shining in them.

"Now go and create havoc between your two friends!" Bansho grins. "Beat them! Torture them! Punish them! KILL THEM!" he laughs again. "Show no mercy! They deserve this kind of torture! NOW GO! You CANNOT betray me!" then he vanishes, his laughter still ringing in the air.

Vivi looks up and then, his red eyes shines brightly and evilly as he walks towards the gate, as he mumbles, "**_Yes, Master…"_**

**_To be continued…_**

_Yikes! Vivi is evil? God, I'll kill you Bansho! Okay, right this very moment, Vivi is now searching for Zidane and KILL him… excited? Find out what happens in the next chapter of, A Life With or Without You._

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